— As early as October, merchants are offering door-buster sales and the so-call best deals of the season.

— Businesses are strategizing to make it difficult for consumers to compare prices and product features. Merchants are focusing on bundled and layered offers, and marketing their private-label products.

— Traditional media will dominate – print ads, television and radio. They’re also using e-mail, social media and in-the-moment advertising in-stores.

— Mobile marketing will be increasingly used with a focus on user experience and convenience.

— Businesses are increasingly using event marketing and opportunities for consumers to try products before they buy.

— Strategies include in-store drawings and sweepstakes.

— They’ll continue to push gift cards.

From the Coach’s Corner, related sales strategies:

Checklist to Create Cyber Monday Sales Success — In order to celebrate your Cyber Monday sales, you must first create a happy buying environment. That means reviewing your store and Web site to attract prospects and to create happy customers.

7 Precautions for a Profitable Layaway Program — Despite the continuous changes in technology, retailers are reverting to a sales and customer-loyalty practice that was prevalent in the 1950s. That would be a layaway program to sell more products to cash-strapped customers. Big box stores, such as Walmart and Toys R Us, have benefited from PR when they’ve announced their layaway programs.

Energize Your Customer-Loyalty Program with 6 Steps — The quickest way for established businesses to optimize revenue is to have a stellar customer-loyalty program — there are six steps you can take for repeat sales and referrals. If you’re not a great steward of your current book of business, it’s futile to look for new customers.

“All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like, and trust.”

-Bob Burg

__________

Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

From New York to Seattle, people have wondered about the impact of the Wall Street protests. No one is asking, but if the protesters wanted to know how to win, they needed to conduct a cohesive major-marketing campaign.

So, if you can humor me, let’s consider this a review of marketing best practices. Along the way, perhaps we’ll see an improvement in corporate ethics. My motivation, you ask? The nation needs a new culture – call it economic patriotism. I’ve been convinced that it’s partly an issue of How CEOs, Taxes and Policymakers Fail the U.S.

The corporate and Wall Street entitlement attitudes – certainly not everyone but a significant number – helped cause and exacerbate the Great Recession. The U.S. will continue to precariously suffer in its fiscal doldrums until economic patriotism becomes the norm, and productive public policies are implemented to improve the pecuniary environment for the creation of jobs.

It wasn’t just the questionable mortgage activities, but many banks and credit card companies behaved in a predatory fashion.

Because they’re domiciled in about six states that allow high interest rates on credit cards and related lines of credit, banks were able to charge exorbitant interest rates on small businesses and consumers – as much as 38 percent for dubious reasons.

And they abruptly cut off lines of credit for countless companies and micro-businesses.

Consequently, many have poor credit ratings, and can’t qualify for Small Business Administration loans.

Among the hard-hit domestic automobile manufacturers, it’s worth noting Ford has been outstanding in its recovery approach. Consequently, Ford didn’t ask the taxpayers for help.

But the banks and the other auto companies had the temerity to lobby for bailouts, as countless Americans lost their jobs and homes. Foreclosures are still rampant, and the financial institutions are hoarding their cash following the bailouts.

GOP and Democrats

In part, the blame for the Great Recession also falls on Republicans in Congress. Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t changed my stripes. I’m still a strong business and free-enterprise advocate. But the Republicans looked the other way during all the predatory behavior, and continue to do so.

But how can the protests help change the culture of corporate greed for economic patriotism?

Protestors need more articulation – not just inane ramblings about corporate greed and spreading the wealth – and organization. Merely sticking it to the wealthy with taxes, and closely allying with opportunists, such as the Rev. Al Sharpton, won’t help the cause and enable good messaging.

The movement needs to grow roots and needs a credible leadership to espouse American values, just as the Vietnam War protests gained traction.Instead of just a bunch of hippies, pacifists and students, it became a movement for moderate American patriots as they began to question the justification for the war.

The Wall Street protests need to focus on corporate ethics.

Again, a classic marketing line of attack is needed. A rag-tag approach doesn’t lead to successful marketing results.

Moreover, it isn’t likely to happen, but leadership is to needed to avoid the typical 14 reasons for the failure of campaigns.

“Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed.”

-Albert Einstein

__________

Author Terry Corbell has writteninnumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.